STREET FIGHTER II - 25 YEARS! (Anniversary)

[Leon Retro]

Once I finally got a chance to play it in the arcades at Blackpool CE/'92 was already out, and everyone was hogging that, so the queues for World Warrior were not as intense.

I remember going to the Games Master computer show in Birmingham and they had an arcade section which had an illegal hack of SF2 called "Black Belt Edition" which everyone thought was really cool. It's funny now to look back and remember all the hacked versions of the game you could find in arcades.

[Asura]

I remember going to the Games Master computer show in Birmingham and they had an arcade section which had an illegal hack of SF2 called "Black Belt Edition" which everyone thought was really cool. It's funny now to look back and remember all the hacked versions of the game you could find in arcades.

I seem to remember a "Rainbow Edition" - was that a thing?

[Leon Retro]

I seem to remember a "Rainbow Edition" - was that a thing?

I looked that up and it's just another name for "Black Belt Edition." The main feature was being able to launch fireballs in the air.

[replicashooter]

I looked that up and it's just another name for "Black Belt Edition." The main feature was being able to launch fireballs in the air.

Which was an absolute game changer to the combos, as were the mid air dragon punches. I hammered this game so much that people had to buy me off the machine in order to be able to play against their mates

Hyper Fighting was the ultimate version of this for me as the added speed, slickness and extra characters just did it for me. I remember paying an absolute fortune to import the Japanese version for the SNES only to discover it had a new kind of lockout chip and had to wait around 2 weeks for Datel to create a new piggyback bypass adaptor but when it arrived, oh man it was just like having an arcade in your home.

Dreamcast port of II X was hands down the best in every respect though as it captured the chunky pixels, excellent sound, online play and the DC had some cracking arcade sticks but even the GBA port gets love for those on the go hadoukens...

[Asura]

Probably would be sacrelige to some, but the version I've played the most of was the HDR version on Xbox 360. I must have played hundreds of hours of it. The online play was just tremendous; first proper online fighter (it put stuff like DOA2U/DOA4 to shame).

[Leon Retro]

I remember paying an absolute fortune to import the Japanese version for the SNES only to discover it had a new kind of lockout chip and had to wait around 2 weeks for Datel to create a new piggyback bypass adaptor but when it arrived, oh man it was just like having an arcade in your home.

Although import games made money, I would think it didn't put much of a dent in Nintendo's sales and profits. I've always hated region lockouts.

Anyway, I remember getting Turbo for Xmas 1993 and absolutely loving it. For memories and overall play time, it's my favourite game in the franchise. I still have a soft spot for Turbo on the SNES.

[replicashooter]

Although import games made money, I would think it didn't put much of a dent in Nintendo's sales and profits. I've always hated region lockouts.

Anyway, I remember getting Turbo for Xmas 1993 and absolutely loving it. For memories and overall play time, it's my favourite game in the franchise. I still have a soft spot for Turbo on the SNES.

Nintendo were and are just dicks like that, its just how they do business for some reason. Turbo on the SNES was exceedingly good but in general that pad was just designed for the SF series as everything was where it needed to be and uber responsive.

I haven't played the latest incarnation on 3DS yet as in general the series lost me at 3 when it got into all that other stuff that took away from the pure gameplay.

[J0e Musashi]

Street Fighter II is for me the greatest game of all time. I can take you to the very spot where I first played it. I even know that the first character I ever picked was Blanka.

Once it came to and infected London (being that they had cabs in EVERY kind of shop imaginable), it became the biggest thing in my life at that time. I was obsessed with Street Fighter II. My parents went so far as to ask me if I would stop bunking off of school to play it if they bought me my own one. That is why I was so good at it back then. I absolutely DESTROYED Mighty Metro at it on that Nintendo lorry thing at Live '95.

[Asura]

I haven't played the latest incarnation on 3DS yet as in general the series lost me at 3 when it got into all that other stuff that took away from the pure gameplay.

What stuff?

I get that you might think Alpha, with its varied bars, gameplay styles and huge roster (by 3) may have been off-putting, but specifically what are you talking about?

[J0e Musashi]

Parrying I guess. Same for me though. I used to play New Generation quite a lot in our local Segapark, but I've never been a big fan of III or IV. What I've played of V is alright, but nothing will ever be like II was.

[Asura]

Parrying I guess. Same for me though. I used to play New Generation quite a lot in our local Segapark, but I've never been a big fan of III or IV. What I've played of V is alright, but nothing will ever be like II was.

Parrying does change up Street Fighter quite a bit.

That being said, I thought IV was closer to Super-II than Street Fighter had been for a long time (though I'm not a fan of some of the stuff they did in the final revision with focus attacks).

[Nu-Eclipse]

Parrying I guess. Same for me though. I used to play New Generation quite a lot in our local Segapark, but I've never been a big fan of III or IV. What I've played of V is alright, but nothing will ever be like II was.

I'm kind of the same.

Dabbled with SFIII New Generation for a bit. Didn't really play any 2nd Impact or 3rd Strike.

Tried to get into IV but pretty much left it alone once Super AE/Ultra came about.

Gonna try and get into V but yeah, the golden age pretty much passed with SSF2X.

[Nu-Eclipse]

even the GBA port gets love for those on the go hadoukens...

SSF2X Revival on GBA loses major points for the Gouki glitch though, or at least the western version does - the glitch isn't on the JPN version. A very shoddy, and clearly rushed, port.

[HC_O]

I used to play New Generation quite a lot in our local Segapark,

Was that at Yaohan Plaza/Oriental City?

[J0e Musashi]

No. It was on Wood Green High Road.